ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN STUDENT AUTHORS (ANSA)
2022/23 ANSA WORLD CUP
GROUP STAGE MATCH
D2 vs D4 (Image)
For the image attached, produce a piece of literature (poetry, prose, play, etc) using the theme(s) that can be identified. You have 10 minutes to write at least 100 words.
Your time starts now. Submit on or before 21:56 (GMT+1).
All the best!
ANSA… for the love of writing
ASHES
I started the morning with a song, you could say I woke on the right side of the bed but the universe was determined to take me left.
The untouched potato porridge that sat in my bag was the cause of it all. Lunch to take to work was all I had in my mind but things went south with the first slice of the knife. I didn’t cut myself, it might have been better if I did. The problem was what I didn’t do, send the documents to my client.
That wasn’t all I forgot to do though, the fire that raged through what was once my apartment bore the tale- I left the gas on.
"Look what you've done..."
I watched on my knees at the blurry picture; blurry not because it was unclear, but because the tears that welled in my eyes had turned the picture into pixels. The sky above was dark and fiery like judgment day was upon me. Perhaps it was...
The fumes stung my eyes and ran down my lungs, making it difficult to see or breathe. Everything around me sang a song with one theme - destruction. I watched as the building I knew, one that held the memories of my childhood and teenage years, burnt to the ground before me. The fire kept sweeping through the stained white plywood and floorboards, gracefully tearing it down, atom by atom and I knew it was only a matter of minutes before there was nothing left.
However, the funniest part of my story was that the consumed house was only a litote, for within the building lay the greatest of destruction.
My wife... My children...
I could hear their screams for help, but no one was coming for them.
"Look what you've done..."
The voice came again, and when I turned to he who spoke, all I could see was my reflection with a sinister grin pasted on his face. Here was the part of me I had spent my life running from. Now, here I was with no choice but to confront him before he laid what remained of me to waste.
"I didn't do this..." The words came out slowly. "This isn't me..." I tightened my grip around the dagger in my hand.
This isn't me...
The house kept burning away as I charged forward...